Many nations want a rebalancing of the global order, given Western hypocrisy over human rights and democratic values. Can Moscow and Beijing overcome the roadblocks?
China and Russia are overtly challenging Western hegemony over global affairs. Beijing and Moscow claim to provide an alternative that is multipolar, fairer, and just. Is the growing and deepening partnership between the two a paradigm shift in international politics?
In the current geopolitical environment, Western domination seems no longer acceptable due to its track record and doublespeak over human rights. Indeed, the idea of a multipolar global order appears attractive, but Beijing and Moscow will have to navigate many tough challenges ahead to defy Western supremacy in matters of global security, economy and trade, connectivity, and conflict resolution. They require the active support of many other countries to make things happen and move in the right direction.
Speaking at the 24th security summit of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, Kazakhstan on July 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin underlined the importance of new international structures such as the economic bloc BRICS+ (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and new members of the bloc) and the SCO. Confidently, Putin declared, “A multipolar world has become a reality.” In his view, the SCO and BRICS+ are the main pillars of the emerging new global order.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart see the SCO as a counterweight to US supremacy on the global stage. Both leaders require a broader alliance to move ahead in areas such as regional and global security, economy, peace, and development. After the SCO summit, the Kremlin published a joint declaration to this effect.
Xi and Putin are not wide of the mark. It is no secret that BRICS+ is attractive to Southeast Asian countries. Malaysia and Thailand have both expressed their desire to join the new economic bloc. In an interview with Chinese news portal Guancha, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said his country would soon submit a formal membership request. Thailand has already done so.
From the Western perspective, however, a new regional bloc led by Beijing and Moscow is a major cause for concern. As a counter, NATO has kept its door open for any European country to join and contribute “to security in the Euro-Atlantic area.” Presently, NATO’s membership strength has increased to 32 countries in ten rounds of enlargement since the organization’s founding in 1949. In March, Sweden was the latest member nation to join the alliance.
Why is it important to challenge Western supremacy, particularly the US? What is being done by China and Russia to achieve their desired goal? Can their robust bond offer real hope to the world?
Firstly, there is a huge chasm between what the Western countries say in theory and what they do in practice. The large-scale civilian massacres of unarmed women and children in Palestine have exposed Western hypocrisy over human rights. The US, led by an aged and fatigued leader, continues to back a regime in Israel that has blood on its hands.
Western powers continue to be preachy over civil rights while introducing new laws to curb free speech and free thinking. At the same time, they waste no opportunity to take a dig at China, Russia, and Iran over alleged human rights violations, but have no qualms over lending political, diplomatic, ‘moral’, and military support to regimes notorious for committing gross human rights abuse.
Consider the curious case of Germany. Last month, the German government agreed on a draft resolution to oversimplify the deportation process for immigrants who, according to Berlin’s definition and understanding of violence, voice support for ‘terrorism’.
According to the proposed legislation, no criminal conviction would be required for an accused individual to be banished. A ‘like’ or any other affirmative expression of endorsement of ‘objectionable’ content on social media platforms would be deemed an ‘expression of support for terrorism’.
Undoubtedly, this legislation is aimed at controlling pro-Palestine narratives on social media. When the draft is formally approved, it will be used against defenseless individuals and groups in the name of taking ‘tough action’ against ‘Islamists’ and ‘anti-Semitic’ hate crime online.
German Interior Minister Nancy Fraser told the Funke media group that “Anyone who does not have a German passport and glorifies terrorist acts here must – wherever possible – be expelled.” All immigrants in Germany, simply put, have to condone the violent actions of the Israeli government against Palestinian civilians.
It is another matter that a resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council favored calls to halt all arms sales to Israel and demanded the country, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, be held accountable for possible war crimes against the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza and elsewhere.
Perhaps Germany needs a gentle reminder about its past and the horrors of violence perpetrated against the Jewish community. After the extermination of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust, the banning of Hitler’s Mein Kampf, the Nazi salute, and other symbols, or criminalizing the denial of the Holocaust in Germany for political rhetoric and symbolism is one thing, but lending overt support to another possible genocide in Gaza is quite another.
In their official statements since October 2023, Beijing and Moscow have been consistent in their strong condemnation of actions violating international law and international humanitarian law while demanding an immediate ceasefire, a cessation of violence against civilians, and peace talks for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Other European countries need a reality check before using the pulpit to sermonize on civil rights. It is a cruel joke. The world needs some balance and sanity at this critical juncture. There has to be a meaningful structure and just world order in which all nation states and people are empowered to defend their legitimate rights and cherished values, not left to fend for themselves.
The much-needed strategic alliance between Beijing and Moscow promises an alternative to Western domination, but can they deliver the goods without roadblocks?
The US-dominated unipolar world is a major challenge that can be effectively countered through unbending cooperation, collaboration, and reforms led by China and Russia. The UN has to become more representative than it currently is.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first trip to Moscow since the Russia-Ukraine conflict flared up is significant in more ways than one. Moscow and New Delhi have traditionally maintained strong ties, especially in areas such as defense and technology support. New Delhi also maintains close ties with the US, but cannot sideline or ignore the new emerging geopolitical realities in its neighborhood.
